Novel UK Covid variant better at infecting kids

[My Pet Orangutan]

Delay school return in England by two weeks over Covid, union urges

... Prof Wendy Barclay, another Nervtag member, explained how the mutations on the variant’s spike protein – the part of the virus that allows it to infiltrate cells in the lungs, throat and nasal cavity by interacting with a receptor called ACE-2 – could explain the potential link in children.

“The previous virus had a harder time finding ACE-2 and getting into cells, and therefore adults who have abundant ACE-2 in their nose and throat were easy targets and children were difficult to infect,” she said.

“The newer virus has an easier time doing all of that and therefore children are equally susceptible, perhaps, to this virus as adults … It’s not because the virus is specifically targeting them, but it’s just that it’s now less inhibited.”

Many secondary pupils in England face a staggered return to class from 4 January to accommodate mass testing in an effort to address the high number of cases among children. The latest data from the Office of National Statistics showed that the Covid positivity rate in England was highest among school-aged children.

Data on the new variant’s spread across all age groups suggests it has a growth rate of up to 71% higher than other strains. Based on modelling that incorporated genomic data and results of positive tests, scientists on Monday said they had “high confidence” that the variant appeared to be more transmissible, though causation is unclear.

There is no evidence the variant makes Covid more severe or undermines the effectiveness of vaccines, though monitoring is ongoing.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/dec/21/delay-school-return-in-england-by-two-weeks-over-covid-union-urges

[roamer65]

1. Natural selection at work.

This new strain will become the predominant one.

[My Pet Orangutan]

2. Yeppers.

Exactly.

[Denzil_DC]

3. It COULD be.

But there have been widespread calls from many quarters to curtail school opening for some time. For a number of reasons - many economic, some seemingly ideological - the Johnson government has resisted this until it's suddenly panicked at the practically uncontrolled spread of COVID in London and the south east of England, which it's, perhaps conveniently, seeking to blame on this "new variant".

This was less than a week ago:

Government launches legal action against Greenwich school closures

The government has launched legal action against a London council over plans to close schools, using emergency coronavirus legislation for the first time to ensure face-to-face teaching continues until the end of term.

The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, issued a “temporary continuity direction” to Greenwich council, demanding the immediate withdrawal of a letter issued to headteachers over the weekend advising them to close schools early and switch to remote learning amid rising Covid infection rates in the capital.

Although the government has previously threatened legal action, this latest move signals its determination to keep schools open in the run-up to the Christmas holidays and beyond. If Greenwich fails to comply the Department for Education can seek a court injunction

Greenwich and Islington councils had advised schools to close, except to the children of key workers and those classed as vulnerable, and switch to online lessons in the last few days of term to help slow the spread of the virus. The government has not yet launched legal action against Islington.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/14/sadiq-khan-urges-pm-to-let-london-schools-close-early-to-combat-covid

The coronavirus has throughout its course had a staunch ally in the useless Westminster government under Johnson. They're both dangerous. As a combination ...

[58Sunliner]

4. Just sick and insane.

[kurtcagle]

5. I've been wondering if this would happen

Schoolkids are natural vectors, and this insistence on getting kids back in school seemed to be pretty much guaranteed to create the petri-dish like conditions for child covid. What worries me most about this is that we may be setting ourselves up for an entire generation of brain-muddled lives, as the virus in children causes brain damage at a time when the brain is most rapidly growing and changing.

[BrightKnight]

6. Are we sure it is specific to the UK? n/t

[ananda]

7. No we are not.

It is definitely not confined to the UK.